A Guide to the Best and Worst Pumpkin Beers

10. Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin AleCity: BostonABV: 5.7%Tastes like: FallPumpkin flavor: MediumSpiciness: MediumPerfect for: Any day between Sept. 21 and Dec. 21.The verdict:: They may be just a few barrels shy of mass-produced but Sam Adams often beats the craft brewers at their own game. This was one of the best balanced beers of the bunch—darker, maltier and full-bodied.

9. Southampton Pumpkin AleCity: Southampton, N.Y.ABV: 5.5%Tastes like: Somebody caresPumpkin flavor: MediumSpiciness: MediumPerfect for: Gearing yourself up for the onslaught of Trick-or-Treaters.The verdict:: Neither the pumpkin or spice is overpowering, but it all blends together in a way that says, “keep drinking me; I’m only 5.5%!”

8. Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin AleCity: Seattle, Wash.ABV: 5.9%Tastes like: GingerbreadPumpkin flavor: LowSpiciness: HighPerfect for: When you don’t want milk with your cookiesThe verdict:: Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg make this a dessert of a beer while citrus hops bring it all into balance. Just a well-crafted beer.

7. Heavy Seas Greater PumpkinCity: Baltimore, Md.ABV: 9%Tastes like: Your dad’s liquor cabinetPumpkin flavor: LowSpiciness: MediumPerfect for: Alternating with shotsThe verdict:: We may not have been swayed by The Great Pumpkin, but the Greater Pumpkin just isn’t messing around. This is a boozy beer, aged in bourbon barrels, balancing the pumpkin and spice with a whiskey kick.

5. Samuel Adams Fat Jack Double PumpkinCity: BostonABV: 8.5%Tastes like: An imperial stout in costumePumpkin flavor: LowSpiciness: MediumPerfect for: A cold fall night on the porch. Cigars optional.The verdict:: This great, big beer is malty sweet as opposed to fruity sweet with just a hint of pumpkin and spices to qualify as a pumpkin beer. A definite outlier from the style, but so very delicious.

3. Cigar City Good GourdCity: Tampa, Fla.ABV: 8.5%Tastes like: A strong, malty beer with pumpkin and spice to match.Pumpkin flavor: HighSpiciness: MediumPerfect for: Impressing your beer-geek friends who think pumpkin beers are novelties.The verdict:: While the beers with the most pumpkin flavor tended to turn off our panelists with a cloying sweetness, Cigar City treats the pumpkin as a vegetable, finding sweetness from the ever-present malts in beer. The result is a very pumpkin-and-spice-forward beer that doesn’t taste like candy or pumpkin pie. It tastes first and foremost like a big, complex malty beer with strong enough of a backbone to carry the pumpkin and fall spice flavors. This is pumpkin beer done right.

2. Dogfish Head Punkin AleCity: Rehoboth Beach, Del.ABV: 7%Tastes like: Your spice rackPumpkin flavor: MediumSpiciness: HighPerfect for: A better football-watching party than your neighborsThe verdict:: The pumpkin is subtle, but Punkin still tastes like fall thanks to all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of brown sugar. It’s a well-balanced, delicious beer—just what we expect from one of our favorite American breweries.

1. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin AleCity:Easton, Penn.ABV: 8%Tastes like: Pumpkin BreadPumpkin flavor: HighSpiciness: HighPerfect for: Every day in OctoberThe verdict:: This is what a pumpkin beer should be. It tastes unmistakably pumpkin-y while still very much tasting like beer. The label lists cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves, but no single spice throws it off balance. This is what a pumpkin beer should aspire to be.